The next big match: Convergence, competition and sports media rights

Using examples from a number of different European countries, this article analyses the increasingly prominent position of traditional telecommunications companies, such as British Telecom (UK), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), France Telecom/Orange (France) and Telefonica (Spain), in the contemporary sports media rights market. The first part of the article examines the commercial strategies of telecommunications operators and highlights how their acquisition of sports rights has been driven by the need to ensure a competitive position within an increasingly converged communications market. The second part of the article then moves on to consider the regulation of the sports media rights market. Most significantly, this section emphasises the need for further regulatory intervention to ensure that increased competition for sports rights leads to improved services and lower prices for consumers, rather than merely endlessly spiralling fees for the exclusive ownership of premium rights that are then passed on to sports channel and/or broadband subscribers.